Measured dosage dispenser



May 15, 1956 s. F. CHAPPELL MEASURED DOSAGE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 20, 1952 XNVENTOR IVEEASUREB DOSAGE DXSPENSER Story F. ifhappell, Riverside, Conn.

Application December 20, 1%2, erial No. 327,127

5 Claims. (Cl. 222-477) The present invention relates to an improvement in pouring stopper and measuring devices wherein a ball is employed as a valve element in controlling the discharge of liquids from a bottle or other receptacle.

Ball valve controlled dispensing devices have been known for use with bottles or other types of containers, i. e. where the ball as it moves on a spiral track into spout-closing position during pouring operates in effect to predetermine the time, and therefore the volume, of liquid discharge from the container; but these lmown devices do not permit satisfaction of the commercial need for dispensing measured amounts or doses of various bottled liquids. More particularly the cost of such devices as heretofore known has been too great to include in a consumers package without extra char e to the consumer. In the case of oily, soapy or viscous liquids, etc., they tend to become gummy or to form deposits on drying, which interferes with the operation of mechanical devices and tends to clog small passages. A satisfactory device must be inexpensive and foolproof-capable of being given to all kinds of people, for use without instruction over varying periods and under varying conditions and with various intervals between uses. One deterrent to such broadened use with inexpensive bottled liquids has been the apparent necessity of providing an air inlet to the space above the pouring liquid as well as an outlet for the liquid. Eris has resulted both in unduly expensive construction and in undue sensitivity to improper use by unskilled consumers, and thus has left unsolved the long-recognized and urgent need for an inexpensive fool-proof dispenser of measured quantities of liquid.

Liquid soaps, detergents, hand lotions, various polishes and the like are examples of liquids whichcan now, by the present invention, be satisfactorily dispensed-in predetermined or measured quantities.

An object of the present invention has been to provide a combined stopper and dispenser of extremely simple construction which can be supplied at slight extra expense as a permanently installed feature of inexpensive containers for liquids of the kind above referred to; or which can be supplied without extra charge with inexpensive bottled liquids as a separate item and readily installed in the bottle or container by any consumer. l/Vith these and other objects in view, the present invention provides a stopper and measuring dispenser device wherein the device has only a single longitudinal passage through the neck of the bottle for effectively discharging the liquid and for admitting air, and of such extent as to afford free passage of such liquids even where some deposit of dried material takes place therein; and a ball valve memher is combined therewith in such manner that, between pouring operations, the ball remains substantially submerged and therefore acquires no undesired coating or gummy deposit due to drying of the liquid thereon.

A further object of the invention has been. tocontrol the time of passage of a ball valve from its normal position of rest to its flo al-stopping position. This I have q I 2,745,576 a ?atented Nasty 15, 1956 achieved in the present invention by use of a stretchable spring in which travel of the ball from restto stoppingpositions is longer the greater the number of turns of pitch sufficient to provide a spiral track for the ball. A part of the spring may have its turns tight together giving in effect a cylindrical tube through which the ball travels freely; while another part has its turns separated so that the ball rolls down the coil in a spiral path. Thus, standard coils initially of uniform length and pitch may be modified to serve efiectively in dispensing increments of liquids requiring longer or shorter discharge periods to deliver the desired measured amounts at each pouring. One advantage of this feature is the economy in the mass production of a standard coil or tubular helical blank capable of use with some containers and liquids in its initial condition and by a simple modification, is useful in other containers or liquids for movement of the ball at a different rate in a modified condition.

Where the cage or track is in the form of a tubular helical coil, the diameter of the ball in the slow speed portion may be greater than the inside diameter of the coil (i. e., the geometric cylinder or tube which just fits inside the coil), but the ball diameter should be small enough to roll freely down the spiral of the coil, i. e., less than the diameter of the circle tangent in an axial plane to three adjacent intercepts of the coil with said plane. The pitch of the coil should be less than the diameter of the ball. I have found, however, that a ball which is small enough to drop down the center of the coil will nevertheless roll down the helical coil, because it is thrown laterally when the bottle is inverted and thereafter is held away from the center by centrifugal force due to its spiral path. If the tight coils are at the end of the spring remote from the stopper they can be of smaller diameter than the ball, but in all cases it is advantageous that they should be wider. if the tight coils are close to the outlet but beyond the valve seat they must be large enough to allow the ball to fall through them to the valve seat, if at the other end, it is best to allow the ball to fall to the bottom of the remaining liquid and thus avoid drying a coating on it.

The herein described invention relates to the combination of a pouring stopper and liquid measuring device, the stopper or closure member having a single passage therethrough for the discharge of liquid, intake of air and providing a valve seat at its inner end, and a ball which serves as a valve cooperating with said valve seat. The measuring device has a retaining and guiding tubular helical coil having its upper end concentrically arranged with respect to said valve seat and in free'cornrnunication with said single passage. The ball is in said coil, said coil advantageously being of such length in relation to a container or receptacle in which it is operatively positioned that it retains the ball valve member adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle between pouring operations, and provides for it a spiral path of travel sufiicient to delay its closing against its seat while the desired pouring time elapses.

The invention also relates to the combination of a stopper, a ball valve cage in the form of a tubular helical coil, and a ball valve member in said coil, said stopper having a single passage therethrough and a porti'on on the inside of said stopper adjacent the end of said passage engaged by said coil, while a portion at the bottom of the coil extends inwardly to retain the ball in said coil.

the drawings:

Figure l is a view in longitudinal section of a conventional bottle equipped with one form of dispensing device embodying the invention;

Figure 2, a fragmentary view showing a modification involving a helical coil having closely wound turns forming a narrow pitch portion and more extended or elongated turns forming a wider pitch portion;

Figure 3, a side elevation with parts shown in central vertical section of a modification;

Figure 4, a fragmentary sectional View on enlarged scale illustrating the relative positions of various parts of the device during and at the end of a pouring operation;

Figure 5, a view in transverse section on the line 5 normal to the coil axis and on enlarged scale showing size of the ball valve member in relation to the inside diameter of the coil; and

Figure 6, a fragmentary view in longitudinal section showing a modified connectionbetween stopper and coil.

Referring to the drawings, a device according to the present invention, as illustrated in Figure 1, includes a helical coil 1 of sufiicient length to extend from the inner surface of a stopper 2, or the like, to the bottom of a bottle 3, or other receptacle or container. This coil is ordinarily a stainless steel wire spring, but can be made of other material which will withstand the liquid. The upper end opening of coil 3. is substantially coaxial with and tits in the neck of bottle 3; and is in direct communice-lion with the inner end opening of the single passage 4 in said stopper 2, said opening providing a valve seat 5. Said coil 1 has a terminal portion 6 extending across its lower end opening to retain a ball valve member 7 within the coil, and at its upper end the last turn which bears against the stopper is of slightly narrower diameter so that the ball will be retained within the coil when the stopper is removed.

Said helical coil 1 provides, in efiect, a helical path or track which is traversed by ball 7 when the container is tipped to pouring position. Thus, said ball moves by gravity with delayed action from its bottom position into flow-stopping position against valve seat 5. During said movement, liquid is discharged through the pouring spout and stops when the ball effectively engages seat 5.

It is contemplated that, for any given type of liquid and customary manner of use, there will be a substantially predetermined volume discharged at each pouring operation, after which the valve will close.

The coil 1 is shown extending the full length of the container, and this is advantageous in order that the coil may be secured by elastic compression between the stopper 2 and the bottom of the container 3. With a given bottle, this gives a fixed length for travel of the ball, and although this allows some adjustment of the period of flow by use of a shorter or longer pitch in the coil and greater or narrower diameter coils, in some cases it may be necessary to provide for a shorter fiow period than is obtainable with a full length coil by these means. In such case the coil may be provided with an extension beyond the efiective length of the coil. In the cases where, due to the nature of the liquid or the clearance of the ball in the coil, it is feasible to hold the ball above the bottom of the container, the coil may be provided with an integral or connected extension bearing against the bottom of the bottle. Thus an integral extension may be merely a length of wire extending substantially axially from the end of the coil to the bottom of the container, or an inwardly extending abutment may be formed on any turn of the coil shown in Figure 1, so as to stop the ball at the desired level, leaving a shorter length of travel to the valve seat; or a series of touching turns 8 at its lower end portion which give in efiect a solid tube and in its upper end portion turns like those of coil 1 in Figure 1.

Assuming that the coil is initially formed with all its turns or runs successively contiguous or closely spaced, as at 8, and its inside diameter such that ball 7 moves or falls relatively freely therethrough, the timing constant of said coil can be modified by expanding or increasing to a proper extent the pitch of all or part of its turns. This reduces the inside diameter of such extended or elongated portion so that if the ball just fitted freely in the solid portion, it could not fall freely through the extended portion, but would be forced to follow a helical path and thus be impeded or retarded as compared to its time and manner of passage through the portion of closely spaced turns. Even if the diameter is greater so that the ball it perfectly centered could fall freely along an axial path, its spiral passage through the extended part can be assured by ollsetting a single turn or portion of a turn as at 9, whereby the ball is kicked over into the space between the extended turns, where it will be held by centrifugal force as it rolls down the spiral wire.

Where, as in Figure 1, the coil 1 is mounted in the container so as to extend to the top of its opening adjacent and concentric with seat 5, no supporting connection is needed between stopper 2 and coil 1. Said coil will, however, he held more efiectively in operative position where it is of such length as to be slightly compressed and clamped in position by stopper 2. Where coil 1 extends to the bottom of container 3, ball 7 will remain submerged in the liquid contents during intervals between pourings until practically all of the liquid has been dispensed. Thus, there is less likelihood that normal operation of the ball could be impaired or interfered with by any substantial accumulation of the dried liquid thereon.

As a measuring dispensing device for permanent installation in a container, the above-described construction is very desirable in that it involves few simple and inexpensive parts which are easily installed in containers of widely varied types and usable with many kinds of liquids.

The invention also contemplates a pouring stopper and measuring assembly or unit which can be supplied along with the packaged liquid and easily installed by the consumer. Such a device, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, includes a stopper having a pouring spout 10, a peripheral flange 11 and a tapered nipple 12. A single discharge passage 40 extends longitudinally through said fitting which may be mounted in the discharge opening of a container, as in the neck of bottle 3. For example, as shown in Figure 4, a washer 14 is interposed between flange 11 and the top edge of the bottle neck which is screw threaded to receive a clamping cap 15. T he pouring spout 10 extends outwardly through a hole 16 in cap 15.

The inner end of passage 40 is beveled to form a valve seat 17. A ball valve member 7 is retained in a tubular helical coil 10 having an end piece extending across its lower end opening to retain said ball 7. Although the coil in this case is shown extending to the bottom of the bottle so that the ball will be submerged in the liquid at all times except when the bottle is inverted, it will be understood that in this case the spring may be made of any desired length in order to give the desired delayed period, if such submersion is not required. Since the coil is engaged on the stopper, it is not necessary that it be supported on the bottom of the container. Said coil is held in assembled relation to said fitting and said ball by a closely coiled end portion which frictionally engages the tapered surface of nipple 12, thus retaining the upper open end of coil 1c in position to guide ball 7 into engagement with seat 17 when liquid is discharged from the container in pouring.

In Figure 6 is shown an alternative structure in which the stopper 2d is formed with a female receptacle 20 adapted to receive the end turn or turns of the coil 1d. Advantageously, a shallow groove is molded in the cap to fit the exterior of these turns and the end turns of the coil are normally slightly larger than the receptacle 20 so that when the coil is pushed into place, they snap into the receptacle and are held therein by their own resilient expansion. In this case the ball 7 does not seat directly against the stopper 2d, but against the smaller turn or turns at the end of coil 1d. Although this may not give a perfect liquid-tight seal, it is sufiicient to substantially shut ofi the flow and thus to impose a practical limit on the dosage delivered from the bottle.

A measuring dispensing unit, as above described, in volves only a few parts of simple construction which can be mass produced and assembled at very low cost and supplied with packages of liquids in various types of containers at such slight extra expense that it is disposable with the bottles.

It is contemplated that various features of construction of the coil, and the relation of its dimensions to those of the ball, and the relative positions of the coil, ball and container, as first above described will apply as well to the other described dispensing units or assemblies. Likewise, the assembly which is easily applied to a container by any person of ordinary ability, provides similar advantages in operation.

I claim:

1. A pour measuring device adapted for dispensing a predetermined quantity of a viscous liquid comprising in combination a receptacle for holding said liquid and having a discharge opening at one end, a stopper member for said opening with a single aperture extending therethrough adapted for passage of liquid outwardly and air inwardly, and means adjacent said aperture forming an abutment for one end of a coil extending radially inward of the open end of said coil and having a valve seat arranged around the said aperture, an elongated tubular coil freely extending from said valve seat to the opposite end of the receptacle arranged with one end substantially surrounding and in open communication with the inner end of said aperture, and a ball in the coil, at least some of the turns of said coil being spaced apart, the open spaces between successive adjacent spaced turns being less than the diameter of the ball but in at least part of the coil being equal to the chord of a substantial arc of the circumference of said ball.

2. A pour measuring device adapted for dispensing a predetermined quantity of a viscous liquid comprising in combination a receptacle for holding said liquid and having a discharge opening at one end, a stopper member for said opening with a single aperture extending therethrough adapted for passage of liquid outwardly and air inwardly, and means adjacent said aperture forming an abutment for one end of a coil extending radially inward of the open end of said coil, an elongated tubular coil spring normally longer than said receptacle and held in abutment with, and under compression between, said stopper and the opposite end of the receptacle, arranged with one end substantially surrounding and in open communication with the inner end of said aperture, and a ball in the coil, at least some of the turns of said coil being spaced apart, the open spaces between successive adjacent spaced turns being less than the diameter of the ball but in at least part of the coil being equal to the chord of a substantial arc of the circumference of said ball.

3. A pour measuring device for liquids comprising in combination, a container having a discharge opening, a stopper member disposed across said opening and having a single passage for the fiow of liquid outwardly and of air inwardly during pouring and terminating at its inner end in a circular valve seat, a tubular helical coil surrounding and extending from said valve seat to the bottom of said container, and a ball valve element mounted in said tubular coil, and wherein one portion of said coil has its inside diameter as measured in a plane normal to its longitudinal axis greater than the diameter of the ball and another portion of said coil has its similarly measured diameter less than that of said ball, whereby the ball moves freely in said first-mentioned por tion and in a helical path in said other portion.

4. A pour measuring device adapted for dispensing a predetermined quantity of a liquid which comprises in combination, a receptacle for holding said liquid and having a discharge opening at one end with a single aperture extending therethrough adapted for passage of liquid outwardly and air inwardly, an elongated tubular coil extending from said aperture with one end in substantially tight coupling, and in open communication, with said aperture and having at least one smaller turn thereof in tight relation to the aperture and many larger turns spaced apart in said coil, and abutment means extending into the bore of the coil to obstruct passage from the end of the coil opposite to said aperture, and a ball in said coil of diameter less than that of the spaced turns of the coil, greater than the spaces between said turns and greater than that of said turn in tight relation to the aperture.

5. A pour measuring device as defined in claim 4 in which the receptacle includes a removable member tightly fitting a discharge opening in said receptacle and having said single aperture therein, said coil is a stainless steel wire spring having a plurality of tight turns at the top extending into and tightly fitting said aperture, a plurality of spaced turns of larger diameter extending down into the receptacle, and an end portion extending into the bore of the coil.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

